


See It, Like It: Psychology Works

by ThatFilmGraduate



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Bisexual Remus Lupin, Confessions, Confusion, Conversations, Friends to Lovers, Friendship/Love, Gay Sirius Black, Getting Together, Idiots in Love, M/M, Mutual Pining, Psychology, Remus Lupin is a Werewolf Disaster, Sirius Black is a Human Disaster, Three Normal Days, reciprocated feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-26
Updated: 2020-04-26
Packaged: 2021-03-02 03:47:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,531
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23858578
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatFilmGraduate/pseuds/ThatFilmGraduate
Summary: The more you see it, the more you like it.– Robert Zajonc, 1923 - 2008It all started, as many things do, with one of James Potter's brilliant schemes to get a certain fiery redhead to fall madly in love with him. A bit of psychology is used and, as unbelievable as it is, it works for James, so why not for Sirius?Remus/Sirius, mentioned James/Lily and Peter/OFC.
Relationships: James Potter/Lily Evans Potter (mentioned), Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Comments: 1
Kudos: 115





	See It, Like It: Psychology Works

**Author's Note:**

> DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of these HP characters or settings.
> 
> Written: April 2020  
> Edited: April 2020

* * *

_The more you see it, the more you like it.  
_ – ROBERT ZAJONC, 1923 - 2008

* * *

It all started, as many things do, with one of James Potter's schemes to get a certain fiery redhead by the name of Lily Evans to fall madly in love with him.

It was a very normal Wednesday in October and the Marauders, now in their seventh year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, were relaxing in their dormitory after a long day of lessons. Remus Lupin was sitting at his desk, nose buried in a Muggle magazine about Art and Cinema. Peter Pettigrew was lying on his bed, writing a love letter to his girlfriend but pretending it was homework. Sirius Black was posing in front of the mirrors, testing out new hairstyles and preening as he was wont to do. And James Potter was standing in the middle of the dormitory, preparing to make a grand announcement:

"A great man once said: 'The more you see it, the more you like it.' And this, my friends, is the key to my new plan. This is how I am going to go from the friendzone to the endzone."

"Endzone?" Peter muttered, looking up with a frown. "Is that a thing?"

"Yes," James replied indignantly. "It's a very common thing."

"Who said that?" Remus asked, abandoning his magazine in favour of swivelling around in his chair to face the others.

James paused, "What?"

"You said that a great man once said that," Remus clarified. "Who was that great man?"

"Errr..."

The Marauders all waited patiently, Remus at his desk, Peter on his bed, Sirius next to the mirrors, for James to answer. But in the end, Potter replied:

"It was a Muggle. Robert or something. You don't know him. Look, it doesn't matter who said it. Point is, someone said it, and **it** is what is going to make Lily Evans fall madly in love with me."

Sirius wondered who was going to ask the obvious: How? Because that was clearly what his best friend and brother-in-soul was waiting for. But no one said anything. Remus just stared expectantly and Peter just crossed out a sentence on his parchment. Sirius sighed and threw his hair into a messy bun. It was clearly up to him, then.

"Go on, then," he encouraged, flinging himself onto Remus's bed and settling down. "Explain."

"Thank you!" James exclaimed. "Someone who is interested in the intricacies of my brilliant plan!"

After a long second, in which James clarified absolutely nothing, Sirius urged, "So?"

"Ah, yes, my plan," James nodded, "Well, as you all know, Lily and I are friends now and have been for a little while, but I want more. We're both Heads now and we're both on the planning committee, but I have recently signed up to the Tutoring Program to tutor youngsters with her."

Sirius couldn't really see the brilliance yet, and neither could the others, judging from their silence, so he asked, "And...?"

"And the more you see it, the more you like it," James replied, like it explained everything.

This statement was met with silence. Sirius stared for a long moment before he glanced at the others: Remus looked mildly amused, but Peter looked utterly confused. Honestly, Sirius was confused as well. Usually he knew exactly where James's mind was at, but this time...

James sighed dramatically when he realised that his brilliant plan was not so clear and he explained, "The plan, my simple-minded compadres, is to be around Lily more, because if she sees me more, she will like me more, and eventually we will fall in love and marry and have lots of little Evans-Potters."

There was a moment of stunned silence before Sirius and Peter burst out laughing. They laughed and they laughed until their stomachs hurt and their eyes watered because James's plan was, quite simply, laughable. It was barely even a concept! Remus did not laugh, but he did grin. James merely frowned and muttered about how he needed to make some new friends. When the group finally settled down, with Sirius wiping his eyes and Peter clutching his belly, Remus spoke up:

"Prongs, that's not going to work."

James frowned and asked, "Why not?"

Remus seemed to consider his answer carefully but, in the end, he said, "Because it just won't."

James scoffed, unimpressed with Remus's answer. "You'll see," he warned. "You'll all see!"

Sirius couldn't help it. He snorted and fell into another laughing fit. James, the prideful git that he was, decided to tackle him, and whilst fists were flying, Peter returned to his 'homework' and Remus turned back to his magazine.

It was a normal Wednesday in October.

* * *

It sounded ridiculous at first. Honestly, how could more exposure make someone like something more than they previously did? But then, astonishingly, it worked. James Potter somehow managed to pull himself out of the friendzone and Lily Evans asked him on a date!

(Technically this See It, Like It method worked twice for James. First, he climbed out of the hate-zone and into the friendzone, and then he scrambled out of the friendzone and into the romance-zone. He was a walking miracle; an inspiration for those who wanted more than friendship but were denied.)

It was this – one of James Potter's ploys actually succeeding for once – that made Sirius think: If James could do it, then why couldn't he? If this ridiculous plan worked for James, why not try it for himself? And the reason he wondered about this...

Here is, quite possibly, the worst kept secret at Hogwarts: Sirius Black was a homosexual. And the second: Sirius Black fancied Remus Lupin. Everyone knew it – the Gryffindors, the teachers, the villagers of Hogsmeade – but Remus seemed intent on living a life of ignorance and Sirius was keen on keeping his feelings to himself in the name of self-preservation.

But... James had managed it. James had managed to make the love of his life not only like him but also fancy him as well. And if he could do it – if he could make Lily Evans of all people like him – then maybe Sirius could do it as well; maybe he could make Remus, his best friend and confidant, fancy him too.

Sirius at least had some confidence that Remus did not find him hideous. He had seen Remus watching him every now and then, during lessons or in the common room or when they were with friends. The werewolf was always covert about it, but Sirius was aware of everything Remus did, so he had noticed. And he had some hope that maybe his friend liked him in that way. After all, he knew that Remus fancied blokes as much as he liked lasses, and Sirius had noticed that the other Gryffindor stuttered around him sometimes – something he only did when he liked someone or if he was nervous. So, Sirius knew that it was not out of the realm of possibility that Remus returned his affections.

And so, because of these signs (and because his brother-in-soul had succeeded), Sirius decided to use the See It, Like It method: he began hanging around Remus a lot more, hoping that if Remus saw him more, he would like him more.

With James being Head Boy and Peter having a girlfriend, spending alone time with Remus was much easier than it might have been in previous years.

Sirius often sat with Remus in lessons and they studied together in the Library. He spent most of his spare time with Remus (even when the others weren't busy with their girlfriends) and they spent every Hogsmeade weekend together. During their downtime, they did many things together. Sometimes they read and discussed books. Sometimes they listened to music and debated what the song lyrics meant. Sometimes they sat in silence, Remus drawing in his sketchpad whilst Sirius wrote short stories. Most of the time, they talked. They talked in the dormitory and in each other's beds late at night, in the common room and in the Library – wherever they were, really. They talked about Very Important Things and nothing at all. In his pursuit, Sirius had even gone so far as to ambush Remus's morning jogs.

Sirius was **e v e r y w h e r e** , but his werewolf friend didn't seem keen on letting him know if the plan was working or not, and Sirius wasn't interested in ruining their friendship if he was mistaken, so he continued to spend every day with Remus because, well, even if his plan wasn't working, at least he was spending time with his favourite person on the planet.

And that was how Sirius found himself in the Library on a Thursday evening in January.

James and Lily were making use of the empty Dorm. Peter was challenging other Gryffindors to a game of Chess in the common room (and making a quick buck because he was a champion). And Remus... well, Remus was in the Library. And that was why Sirius was there – to annoy the werewolf and... well, you know.

"Hello, Moony," Sirius greeted, shoving the Map into his pocket and taking a seat on the table so that he could stare down at the other student.

Remus did not respond for a second. Instead, he finished his sentence. He then placed his quill on the desk before he leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms, carefully regarding his friend as he coolly replied, "Hello, Padfoot. What a surprise to see you here."

Sirius grinned and glanced down at the Arithmancy books on the table. "So, what are you doing here, in the Library, on this fine Thursday evening?" he asked, just to make conversation.

"Essay," Remus answered shortly. "You?"

"I was just..." Sirius paused, struggling to think of a viable excuse, "...passing by."

Remus snorted and shook his head lightly. "Padfoot, I know what you're doing," he stated.

Sirius adopted his most innocent expression and replied, "I don't know what you mean."

Remus narrowed his eyes and studied the other student carefully before he replied, "You're not half as subtle as you think you are, Padfoot. You seem to think that if we spend more time together, I'll like you more. Because that's what James said would happen with him and Lily, and it did."

"Ha, that is ridiculous," Sirius exclaimed, heart hammering behind his ribcage because it sounded an awful lot like Remus knew about his crush. "Really, Remus, you are a hoot!"

Remus raised an eyebrow and replied, "I agree, it is ridiculous. But it's what you're doing. And it's not going to work."

Sirius debated lying, saying that he wasn't using the See It, Like It method, but Remus could read him like a book sometimes and he knew that the other Gryffindor would know if he was telling the truth or not, so he decided not to bother with pretences and asked, "Why not?"

"Because you're my best friend and I already like you, you dunce," Remus replied fondly.

Sirius frowned, unsure if Remus was reciprocating his feelings or not. It sounded like it, but then Remus had also called him a 'dunce' and his 'best friend' and had said that what he was doing wasn't working. The werewolf could be so cryptic sometimes and Sirius hated it.

"Right, so..." He paused and wondered how to ask for clarification without revealing his all-consuming infatuation. Remus might have known already, and it certainly felt like it, but nothing had been said outright, so it was still possible that Remus did not know and was just messing with him. In the end, he couldn't think of a good way to ask, so he stood up and said, "It doesn't matter."

"Wait," Remus halted him with a hand on his wrist, "What is it?"

"I was just..." Sirius exhaled silently and leaned against the table, staring down at the strong hand wrapped around his wrist. Could he do it? Could he really confess that he was desperately attracted to his best friend? Would Remus return the confession? What would happen then? After a second, he figured that he was a Gryffindor for a reason and it was worth taking a leap of faith, and he said, "I was hoping that more exposure would make you like me... in a different way."

Remus studied him for a long moment before he replied, "I'm sorry, just so it's clear, you really thought that spending every waking second with me and stalking me on my runs and in the Library would make me fancy you? Like, in a romantic way?"

Well, it sounded stupid when it was put like that, but the truth was undeniable, so Sirius shrugged and nodded and stared down at his wrist where Remus's hand was still attached. He waited for his friend's reaction, gnawing at his lip nervously. He only looked up when he heard a snort and he found Remus laughing. Sirius's cheeks flamed, but he didn't know whether to be embarrassed or offended. Remus was laughing at him?! He pulled away and stood up again, glaring down at his 'friend'.

"Alright, I get it, Remus," Sirius growled. "Don't be a twat."

"Wait, wait," Remus reached out for him again and managed to secure his hand this time, "Sorry. I'm sorry. It's just – I wasn't expecting... You really fancy me?"

Sirius scowled, "Obviously."

"Right, that's..." Remus nodded to himself, like he was trying to figure something out. "Wow."

"Alright, Moony, it's not that hard to believe," Sirius muttered. "Lots of people fancy you."

"But you're not people," Remus replied, staring at him carefully.

Sirius didn't know how to take that or what the look in his friend's eyes meant, but he did know one thing: he had just let himself be vulnerable and Remus had not reciprocated his feelings. Sirius Black had, not for the first time in his life, been rejected, and all he wanted to do was be alone so that he could lick his wounds in peace and forget everything that had happened in the last twenty minutes. He would fix their friendship later, after he had recovered.

With that in mind, Sirius pulled his hand away from Remus's and shoved them into his pockets. "Look, I'm sorry, alright?" he said, stepping away. "I understand if you don't feel the same. I'll get over it. I'm just going to go, okay?"

"Wait, no, I don't want you to get over it," Remus replied, standing up but not moving forward.

Sirius frowned, "What?"

"I don't want you to get over it," Remus repeated.

"What, you don't fancy me, but you don't want me to move on?" Sirius asked incredulously, shocked at the sheer selfishness of his friend.

"Whoa, wait," Remus held up his hands, "I never said I don't fancy you."

"Yes, you did."

"When?"

"When you said that what I was doing wasn't working," Sirius pointed out. "And you laughed at me."

"Ah," Remus muttered, "I suppose that could be misconstrued."

Sirius frowned, his chaotic thoughts now in turmoil. "Remus, you're confusing me now."

"Sirius, you stalking me and exposing yourself to me more isn't going to make me suddenly fancy you," the werewolf informed. "It's just going to frustrate me because I already fancy you."

Sirius paused and took a second to study his friend: Remus, though guarded and often hard to read, looked completely sincere (and a little exasperated, but that was his default expression), but Sirius had no idea what to think and their conversation thus far had confused him, so he was unsure about... well, everything.

"Really?" he asked sceptically.

Remus grinned and stepped forward, close enough that he was within touching distance and Sirius could see the freckles on the bridge of his nose. "Yes," he replied.

"But, you've never—"

"What?" Remus interrupted. "I've never shown an interest? Think again."

Sirius thought back to the last few months (years) and realised that Remus, in his own subtle way, had been showing his interest for a long time.

Remus had shown his interest when he let Sirius annoy him every moment of every day and when he listened to Sirius's constant (sometimes pointless) rambling; when he knew exactly what mood Sirius was in and how to handle him; when he bought the perfect gifts (sixth year: a limited edition of Freaks of Nature by Annika Woodroot and Andrew Stonehurst) and when he knew how Sirius liked his coffee on the mornings; when he listened to Sirius's music and when he read Sirius's book suggestions.

Remus had shown his interest in many ways and Sirius had been too dim, too worried that he would ruin their friendship, to notice it.

"Oh."

"Yes," Remus grinned. "Oh."

Sirius smiled shyly and swayed on the spot, looking up at his more-than-friend with his hands still tucked into his pockets. He didn't know what to do or say. All of his natural charm and grace had vanished now that he knew his feelings were requited.

"So..." he muttered, feeling weird and awkward and elated. "Where do we go from here, then?"

Remus shrugged jerkily, his clumsy movements the only indication that he was feeling lost as well. Sirius was glad that he was not alone. Their friendship was changing forever and neither of them knew what was going to happen next, but Sirius didn't mind and Remus didn't seem to mind either.

"What do normal people do in these situations?" Remus asked.

"I don't know," Sirius replied. "We're not normal people."

"Fair point," Remus conceded with a chuckle. "I supposed we go on a date?"

"Don't people usually go on dates with people they don't know?" Sirius asked. "You know, so they can learn things about each other that they didn't previously know?"

"Not necessarily," Remus replied. "Dates are merely a stepping-stone into relationships."

Sirius hummed and stepped closer, removing his hands from his pockets and touching Remus's fingers with his own, testing their new boundaries. "Is that so?" he asked.

Remus swallowed and stared down at their fingers. "Yes," he muttered. "We don't have to do anything flash or anything. We can just hang out by the Lake and eat some food, if you want."

Sirius grinned recklessly and wondered, "Are you asking me?"

Remus rolled his eyes, his aloof composure seemingly returning, and said, "Yes, Sirius, I'm asking you: would you like to go on a date with me?"

Sirius's grin, if possible, grew wider and he nodded. "Obviously."

Remus grinned back and that was that.

* * *

It was a very normal Saturday in April and Sirius found himself drowning in soft lips and softer words. The others were in Hogsmeade, but he and Remus had decided to make use of the empty dormitory.

"Psychology clearly works," Sirius muttered absently.

Remus pulled back and stared down at his boyfriend. "Sorry, what?"

Sirius paused and wondered if he should repeat himself or not. On one hand, Remus had asked him a question and it was rude to ignore someone when they were asking you something. But on the other hand, Remus had stopped kissing him and he really wanted Remus's lips back on his.

"Sirius?"

Sirius begrudged himself sometimes because his mind had a tendency to remember things at random times and those random times tended to be inappropriate; like, for example, when he was thinking about the See It, Like It method when he should have been focused on Remus. But in his defence, it was nearly May, which meant that their four-month anniversary was coming up, and Sirius, being the hopeless romantic that he was, was thinking of something special to do and how they had gotten to where they were.

"I, uh – When Prongs said that thing, the psychology thing about if you see something more, you'll like it more," he replied.

Remus just frowned, looking utterly confused.

This was a fair reaction, really, because to Remus, Sirius had just said picked a topic out of thin air and began a conversation. But Remus was used to Sirius's character flaws and he was used to Sirius talking about everything and nothing with no obvious indicator of how he had gotten to that subject, so Sirius concluded that his boyfriend must have been confused about something else...

"It clearly works," he added. "Because I spent more time with you, and you saw me more, and now we are romantical with each other."

Remus snorted (quite attractively, if you asked Sirius) and replied, "Padfoot, you utter prick, it did not work. If you recall, I already fancied you."

Sirius, used to the insulting pet names, did not flicker when his boyfriend called him an 'utter prick' but he did think about Remus's words. "Maybe it's a bunch of crock, then," he murmured thoughtfully. "It worked for James, though."

"Sirius..." Remus looked torn between arguing with Sirius and ravishing Sirius. "Shut up and kiss me."

Sirius grinned and muttered, "Okay," before he planted his lips on Remus's and they returned to their previous fun activity.

It all started, as many things do, with one of James Potter's schemes. And, somehow, it worked out.


End file.
